CPRMPA

I've never taken the GMAT so take this with a grain of salt, but...from what I've heard, the GMAT is more quant-heavy whereas the GRE's verbal section is a bit more challenging. So that distinction could help determine which test is better for you to take, based on your individual strengths. I believe many (most?) of the programs you'd be applying to would accept either test.

I'm going to Fels in the fall. It's a great school if you're interested in domestic policy and want to stay in the Northeast. If you want to be in Philly, Fels offers incredible connections here. You're right that it's a small school - each cohort only has about 30 students, so it's a pretty tight-knit group. Alumni also seem to be fiercely loyal to the program, which is helpful for networking and finding jobs. Their career counseling seems to be excellent. All of the students I've met seem incredibly bright, and bring interesting professional backgrounds and perspectives. As far as the interview goes, I had my alumni interview back in the fall and it was really more like a casual conversation and opportunity to ask questions about the program. Also, this existing thread on Fels might be helpful to you:

I agree with what's been said above - take the time to get more work experience. Most schools prefer candidates who have good work experience anyway. In a few years, your professional background plus an improved quant GRE score will increase your likelihood of getting strong funding offers from schools, and you'll also be in a better position to get a job after you graduate. I'm so sorry you've found yourself in this frustrating situation! But it will be OK. I would just advise you against jumping the gun and taking this offer now. If you get more work experience and prioritize strengthening your applications for future years, I have no doubt that you'll get lots of funding from schools. The further out you get from undergrad, the less your GPA matters and the more your work experience does.

I don’t post here much, but throughout the application process I have found reading other people’s results from previous years to be very helpful (and in some ways reassuring!). I’m glad to finally be in a position to do the same for others . So, here goes! Program Applied To: MPA, MSSP (this is a Master of Science in Social Policy that’s just offered at Penn) Schools Applied To: Penn Fels, Penn SP2, Princeton WWS, Syracuse Maxwell, NYU Wagner, UDel SPPA Schools Admitted To: Penn Fels + SP2 (~75% scholarship), Syracuse Maxwell (~60% scholarship + 54k stipend), UDel SPPA (90% scholarship + $18k stipend), NYU Wagner (no funding) Schools Rejected From: WWS Still Waiting: N/A Interests: Domestic social policy, specifically food insecurity and safety net programs. Undergraduate institution: Top 100 liberal arts college Undergraduate GPA: 3.97 Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable): 3.98 Undergraduate Major: American Studies, with a specific focus on poverty and racial inequality in the US. GRE Quantitative Score: 157 GRE Verbal Score: 170 GRE AW Score: 5.5 Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 5 Years of Work Experience: 5 Describe Relevant Work Experience: Nonprofit development/fundraising at two different well-established organizations whose missions are directly related to the policy areas of interest to me: food insecurity, poverty, safety net programs. I also serve as the Secretary of the Board of Directors for my neighborhood food co-op, and I have significant community service experience. Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): My guess is very. I opened with a compelling personal story that connects my family background to the policy issues I care about, and then led into how that experience shaped my career goals in terms of the work I’ve done in nonprofit development over the past 5 years, why I am now pursuing an MPA, and what I want to do in the long-term. I also customized my SOP for each school to demonstrate "fit" with their program and show I did my homework. Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): I didn’t see my rec letters, but my guess is that they were also strong. I had one letter from each of my direct supervisors at the nonprofits I’ve worked for, and have good relationships with both of them. My third letter came from my college advisor, who has described me in the past as one of the best students he’s taught. Decision: I’m doing the MPA + MSSP dual degree program at Penn. Since I know I want to stay in the Philly area for the foreseeable future for family reasons, the Fels MPA offers a great network – and I’m really interested in pairing that with the ability to focus specifically on social policy analysis through the MSSP. Words of Advice: Start the application process early. Between my full-time job and community involvement I tend to be a very busy person, so taking a full year to research schools and work on my applications gave me the time I needed to apply confidently. I decided I officially wanted to apply to grad school in December 2015, so from January - August I studied for and took the GRE (I originally intended to take it in the spring but life got in the way). Then I spent August - December visiting schools, writing essays, coordinating with recommenders, and filling out applications. Maybe if you aren’t as busy as I am you could do it in less than a year, but regardless I would recommend starting earlier than you might think you should. A year sounded like SO much time to me but it really wasn’t. MAGOOSH!! Magoosh is a really stellar online test prep service that I truly cannot recommend highly enough – and at $99 for a 6 month subscription, it made WAY more sense for me than spending upwards of $1,000 on test prep from Kaplan or Princeton Review. They have fantastic study plans, very helpful video lessons, a gazillion practice questions that mirror the test format, and 8 excellent practice tests. It’s self-guided, which worked well for my schedule. I’m not great with standardized tests: I first took the GRE in my senior year of college with minimal preparation and did poorly (152Q, 160V, 4.5 AWA). For a long time I wondered if I would ever actually apply to grad school because the GRE felt like such a big hurdle. I really credit Magoosh with helping me get my scores up. You CAN avoid going into massive debt if you make it a priority. I knew I was not willing to take on any more than $30,000 in debt for grad school, so as I was researching programs I made sure to look into the amount of aid available. I only considered schools in a very limited geographic area, but even within that I made sure that my list of schools included a couple where I would have a good chance of getting funding. I also worked really hard to get my GRE scores up knowing what an impact that can have on schools’ financial aid decisions. I was fortunate that I was able to afford my top-choice school because of the scholarship I was offered, but if that hadn’t worked out I definitely had a good “safety” school option that would have ensured I could get my master’s without going into massive debt. Getting into the most selective school isn’t everything. I’m not gonna lie, I was disappointed when I didn’t get into WWS. If I had gotten in, I would have gone without a question because I felt like it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. I mean, essentially getting paid to get your master’s from a top program is pretty awesome. But I realize now that I had built WWS up in my mind because of the prestige factor and the incredible funding they offer. If I’m being honest with myself, I knew deep down that WWS wasn't right fit for me when I visited in the fall; I walked away from that visit feeling less excited about the program, not more. I really think it was a blessing in disguise that I didn’t get in, because I know I will be much happier at Penn in just about every way -- academically, personally, and professionally. Since I intend to stay in the Philly area, I think Penn will actually open more doors for me here than Princeton would. And I absolutely fell in love with Fels the two times I visited. I know there’s a temptation to just try to go to the “best” or most highly ranked school you can, but I would recommend really putting a lot of thought into what you want to get out of your degree and what makes the most sense for you.

If you know you aren't willing to go to HKS without funding (and I don't blame you - going into that much debt seems insane), I would advise pretty strongly against going to admitted students day. Their job is to sell you on why you should go to their school. I didn't apply to HKS, but other admitted students' days I've gone to have made me really excited about the programs. If you go, I'd hate for you to fall in love with the program and then feel disappointed that you can't afford it; or worse, feel tempted change your mind and make a bad financial decision to take on enormous debt. Since you already have a full ride from a different school that you feel is just as strong, it seems like a no-brainer to take it. If you already have your plane tickets purchased and can't get your money back, why not turn it into an opportunity to take a mini-vacation and explore Boston? It's a fun city with tons to do. That's what I would do if I were in your shoes. Just my two cents.

@Ohhsojenna Is this for the MPA (Fels) or the MSSP (SP2)? I had an alum interview for the Fels MPA back in February that was very similar to @Garcia's. If you're asking about the MSSP, I had a Skype interview with Mary Mazzola from admissions on Friday and she asked pretty typical interview questions: why you want to pursue the degree, why Penn, what are your three biggest strengths, what are your plans after you graduate, stuff like that. If there is anything questionable in your undergrad transcript she may also ask about that.